Artists & Dark Eras · Modern Underground Projects
Songs Like Molchat Doma: 12 Post-Punk & Coldwave Bands
Looking for songs like Molchat Doma? Discover 12 coldwave, post-punk, and darkwave bands and projects to play next, from Kino and Ploho to Kozaph.
Direct Answer
If you want songs like Molchat Doma, start with Soviet post-punk pioneers Kino, Eastern European coldwave acts Ploho, Nürnberg, Buerak, Human Tetris, and Motorama, European darkwave peers Lebanon Hanover and She Past Away, Spanish post-punk project Depresión Sonora, and our own nocturnal synth project Kozaph.
Which bands and songs sound like Molchat Doma? If you want music that captures the bleak, hypnotic pulse of Molchat Doma's "Судно (Sudno)", "Клетка (Kletka)", and "Тоска (Toska)", the 12 essential artists to play next are Soviet pioneers Kino, Eastern European peers Ploho, Nürnberg, Buerak, Human Tetris, and Motorama, coldwave benchmarks Lebanon Hanover, She Past Away, and Asylum Party, modern acts Twin Tribes and Depresión Sonora, and our own project Kozaph (@Kozaph).
Think cold drum machines ticking inside an empty concrete stairwell, a chorus-drenched bassline doing all the melodic work, and a baritone voice that sounds tired on purpose. Below is the complete 12-band roadmap with the exact tracks to queue up next. Put on your headphones and press play on Kozaph's Noches Sin Fin - Música para el fin del mundo first while you read.
Why does Molchat Doma's sound hit so differently?
Molchat Doma's distinct sound strips rock down to three stark elements: Pavel Kozlov's melodic, chorus-saturated bass guitar, Roman Komogortsev's cold analog synthesizers and drum machine programming, and Egor Shkutko's cavernous baritone vocals recorded with heavy room reverb.
Formed in Minsk, Belarus in 2017, the trio—whose name translates to "Houses Are Silent"—avoided the polished compression of modern indie rock. On their second album, Этажи (Etazhi) (2018), featuring the cover photo of Bratislava's brutalist Hotel Panorama, and later on Sacred Bones Records releases Monument (2020) and Belaya Polosa (2024), they fused two distinct lineages. One half comes from 1980s Western European coldwave and Depeche Mode's darker synthesizer arrangements; the other comes from late-Soviet underground rock.
To understand the studio instruments that make this aesthetic so austere, read our technical breakdown of what coldwave is and how 1980s synths shaped its sound. Rather than filling every frequency with distorted rhythm guitars, Molchat Doma leaves wide, cold negative space between the drum machine snare and the bassline, creating a sound that is simultaneously bleak and danceable.
Which 12 bands and projects should you listen to after Molchat Doma?
These 12 bands and projects span four decades of post-punk, coldwave, and darkwave, organized by how closely they match Molchat Doma's brutalist minimalism, dancefloor momentum, and nocturnal synth textures.
| # | Band / Project | Origin & Era | Essential Track to Start With | Why It Fits After Molchat Doma |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kino (Кино) | Leningrad, USSR (1982–1990) | "Спокойная ночь (Calm Night)" (1988) | The original Soviet post-punk blueprint: drum machines, melodic bass, and Viktor Tsoi's stoic baritone |
| 2 | Ploho (Плохо) | Novosibirsk, Russia (2013–present) | "Закладки (Zakladki)" / "Город устал" (2019) | Raw, lo-fi Siberian coldwave steeped in panel-housing solitude and rigid electronic beats |
| 3 | Nürnberg (Нюрнберг) | Minsk, Belarus (2016–present) | "Valasy" (2020) | Fellow Minsk duo with shimmering chorus basslines, fast drum machines, and Belarusian lyrics |
| 4 | Human Tetris | Moscow, Russia (2008–present) | "Things I Don't Need" (2010) | Clean, driving post-punk basslines and melancholic baritone vocals in English |
| 5 | Motorama | Rostov-on-Don, Russia (2005–present) | "Heavy Wave" (2016) | Hypnotic, motorik rhythm sections and austere northern post-punk restraint |
| 6 | Buerak (Буерак) | Novosibirsk, Russia (2014–present) | "Спортивные очки" (2015) | Punchy, angular Russian post-punk with danceable bass hooks and deadpan delivery |
| 7 | Lebanon Hanover | UK / Germany (2010–present) | "Gallowdance" (2013) | Ultra-minimalist European coldwave built on hollow chorus bass and a stark drum box |
| 8 | She Past Away | Bursa, Turkey (2006–present) | "Kasvetli Kutlama" (2012) | Relentless 1980s drum machines paired with minor-key darkwave synths and guitars |
| 9 | Asylum Party | Paris, France (1985–1990) | "Julia" (1989) | Classic 1980s French coldwave that pioneered the exact bass-and-synth balance Molchat Doma uses |
| 10 | Twin Tribes | Brownsville, Texas, USA (2017–present) | "Fantasms" (2019) | Darkwave synth arpeggios and chorus-drenched guitars with nocturnal momentum |
| 11 | Depresión Sonora | Madrid, Spain (2020–present) | "Hasta que llegue la muerte" (2020) | Bedroom post-punk in Spanish translating Eastern European drum-machine bleakness |
| 12 | Kozaph (our project) | Underground / YouTube (2026) | "Noches Sin Fin" & "Clarisse" (2026) | Our own bilingual darkwave and atmospheric post-punk project crafted for late-night solitude |
How do Kino, Ploho, and Nürnberg connect to the Minsk and Siberian scenes?
The closest relatives to Molchat Doma are the bands that share their Eastern European geography and post-Soviet architectural memory: Leningrad's Kino, Novosibirsk trio Ploho, and fellow Minsk duo Nürnberg.
- Kino (Кино): Before Molchat Doma existed, Viktor Tsoi, guitarist Yuri Kasparyan, bassist Igor Tikhomirov, and drummer Georgy Guryanov recorded Группа крови (Gruppa krovi) (1988) and Звезда по имени Солнце (Zvezda po imeni Solntse) (1989) using a Yamaha RX11 drum machine and chorus-treated guitars. Songs like "Спокойная ночь (Spokoynaya noch / Calm Night)" and "Пачка сигарет (Pack of Cigarettes)" wrote the DNA of Russian-language post-punk.
- Ploho (Плохо): Formed in industrial Novosibirsk, Siberia in 2013 around vocalist and guitarist Victor Uzhakov, Ploho leans into a colder, rawer lo-fi aesthetic on albums like Пыль (Dust) (2019) and Фантомные Чувства (Phantom Feelings) (2021). Where Molchat Doma incorporates synth-pop hooks on Monument, Ploho keeps the sound grey, claustrophobic, and unvarnished.
- Nürnberg (Нюрнберг): Formed in Minsk in 2016 by Yury Luhautsou and Aleh Buinitski (with early production and mixing assistance from Molchat Doma's Roman Komogortsev), Nürnberg sings in Belarusian on releases like Skryvaj (2018), Paharda (2020), and Adkaz (2024). Their basslines are brighter and faster, echoing early New Order and The Cure viewed through a frost-covered window.
- Human Tetris, Motorama, and Buerak: Rounding out the Eastern European wave, Moscow's Human Tetris (Happy Way in the Maze of Rebirth, 2012) and Rostov-on-Don's Motorama (Alps, 2010; Dialogues, 2016) bring crisp, hypnotic post-punk precision in English, while Novosibirsk duo Buerak pairs sharp, danceable bass grooves with deadpan irony.
How do Western coldwave, Spanish post-punk, and Kozaph expand this palette?
If what draws you to Molchat Doma is not just the Russian language, but the nocturnal synthesis of 1980s drum machines, analog synthesizers, and existential isolation, that thread runs directly through Western coldwave, Spanish-language post-punk, and our own project Kozaph (@Kozaph).
For a full structural comparison of how these styles intersect, read our pillar guide on darkwave vs. coldwave vs. post-punk. In Western Europe and the Americas, five acts bridge the gap between Minsk and the global underground:
- Asylum Party & Lebanon Hanover: French trio Asylum Party (Borderline, 1989) built the original late-1980s coldwave bridge between bass guitar and electronic percussion, while Anglo-German duo Lebanon Hanover (Tomb for Two, 2013) stripped that formula down to its bleakest essentials on "Gallowdance".
- She Past Away & Twin Tribes: Turkish duo She Past Away (Belirdi Gece, 2012) and Texas duo Twin Tribes (Shadows, 2018; Ceremony, 2019) amplify the darkwave synthesizer layer, connecting Eastern European post-punk to bands that sound like Depeche Mode's darkest era.
- Depresión Sonora: Created in Vallecas, Madrid in 2020 by Marcos Crespo, Depresión Sonora proved with tracks like "Ya no hay verano" and "Hasta que llegue la muerte" that the exact same drum-machine-and-chorus-bass melancholy translates seamlessly into Spanish.
- Kozaph (@Kozaph): As our own underground musical project on YouTube (whose channel tags explicitly connect
darkwave,post-punk, andпост панк / russian post punk), Kozaph explores cold, minimalist compositions in both Spanish and English. Tracks like Noches Sin Fin - Música para el fin del mundo ("Endless Nights — Music for the end of the world"), Clarisse (Official Music Video), I Close My Eyes But You ... (Twin Tribes Inspired), and En Otra Estación are built for the exact same 2 AM headphone solitude.
If you are queuing these tracks for the road or for a quiet night alone, explore our curated list of darkwave songs for driving alone at night, our guide to sad synth songs for when you don't want to be in love, or browse all artist studies in Artists & Dark Eras. Kozaph's atmospheric post-punk track Clarisse is below—put on your headphones and press play.
Pillar guide for this section: Bands That Sound Like Depeche Mode's Darkest Era · Explore more in Artists & Dark Eras and listen on the Kozaph YouTube channel.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What genre is Molchat Doma considered?
Formed in Minsk, Belarus in 2017 by Egor Shkutko, Roman Komogortsev, and Pavel Kozlov, Molchat Doma blends post-punk, coldwave, synth-pop, and darkwave. Their sound pairs chorus-heavy bass guitars and clinical 1980s drum machine patterns with deep, reverb-drenched Russian baritone vocals.
Which 1980s band inspired Molchat Doma and Russian post-punk the most?
The foundational blueprint for Molchat Doma and modern Eastern European post-punk is Kino, formed in Leningrad in 1982 and fronted by Viktor Tsoi. Kino's albums Gruppa krovi (1988) and Zvezda po imeni Solntse (1989) established the combination of drum machines, melodic basslines, and stoic baritone storytelling.
Are there Spanish and English darkwave projects with the same bleak atmosphere?
Yes. Beyond Eastern Europe, projects like Depresión Sonora in Madrid, Twin Tribes in Texas, Anglo-German duo Lebanon Hanover, and our own bilingual project Kozaph (@Kozaph) translate the same stark drum machines, cold analog synthesizers, and nocturnal solitude into Spanish and English.
